Hatchback Reviews

The Mini Cooper is now two different cars - the EV from China and the petrol hatch from the UK. The latter is a thorough facelift of its 2014 predecessor, using the same centre section, powertrain and platform, blended with a fresh face and tail, as well as a striking new dash. There have been other changes and updates too, though the same feisty Mini character remains. But is that enough, though?

The Mini Cooper is back, but this time in two very different versions, starting with a restyled petrol range. But only the all-electric 3dr hatch is truly all-new. Redesigned from the ground up, it sits on a fresh architecture, bringing a larger yet crisper body and a more minimal, intuitive and stylish interior. But has the Mini lost any of the fun athleticism the British brand is famous for?

We range-test the Fiat 500e and compare it to its Abarth 500e companion in our final month with the diminutive electric city car.

Something I need to stop doing is getting out of cars I’ve just been driving and walking off while they’re still running. Seriously, I’ve done it constantly lately and I blame it all on the MG MG4 I’ve been testing for the past month.The MG4 is a small electric hatchback and it doesn’t have an on or off switch. It just turns on when you open the door and sit in the driver’s seat and then turns off when you get out and lock it.That’s a convenient feature and I became used to it quickly. Thing is I’m now getting out of other cars without turning them off.There’s more to the MG4 than that trick, so let me start again.Our MG4 is the most affordable in its range which means it’s the Excite grade and it has the 51kWh battery. MG was doing a drive-way deal of $39,990 at the time of writing, making it one of the lowest priced electric cars in Australia.The Excite grade has most of the features of the Essence grade above it. There’s LED headlights, a 10.25-inch media screen and 7.0-inch instrument cluster, plus there’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.Just before I started in this MG4 I’d been testing the MG4 Essence and that gave me a clear back-to-back comparison of what you’re not getting in the Excite. Things like heated seats, a wireless phone charger and a power adjustable driver’s seat.You can do without those features if money’s tight, but I’m not sure I could live without the 435km driving range (WLPT) the Essence has from its larger 64kWh battery.The Excite’s 51kWh battery has a range of 350km (WLPT) and in real-world testing we found this to be accurate, but also not enough for longer trips where we knew a charger wasn’t waiting for us at the other end.The good news is the Excite is offered with a 64kWh battery, too, for about $5000 more which sounds like a lot at this level, but the extra capacity will take some of the range anxiety away.We managed to travel 405km in our Excite 51kWh but it was all urban duties - the school run, grocery shopping and city commuting. Overall our average energy usage was 23.1kWh/100km, which is on the higher side. Our long-term testing of larger heavier EVs returned better energy efficiency than this. Charging is quick and I found using a 75kW charger the battery could be filled from five to 90 per cent in under an hour, which is impressive, but don’t forget the battery isn’t enormous.What is impressive is the way the MG4 Excite drives. This is a comfortable, well composed sporty hatchback with good handling. I feel the way this car drives is outstanding for the price bracket with great steering, too, and a superb feeling of connection to the road. The practicality of the MG4 is also outstanding. We have a small family with a toddler and a bigger kid and we lived daily with the MG4 and never found room for us or our stuff in the cabin to be an issue. Boot space is a little restricted, though, at 363 litres, but the beauty of a hatch is you can fold the rear seats down to carry something larger, which we did. We bought a small cabinet online which fit with plenty of space to spare. Have a look at my pictures.Great styling with a sporty face, interesting tail-lights with a cool LED design and a premium-looking interior complete what is an outstanding package, especially at this price.Acquired: June 2024Distance travelled this month: 405kmOdometer: 1493kmAverage energy consumption this month: 23.1kWh/100km

A true original amongst affordable and quality city cars and superminis, the first Swift arrived in 1983, and the latest version launched in mid-2024 is version number six.

The sixth-generation Swift supermini since 1983, the latest version is the first to introduce mild-hybrid electrification across the range.

The Suzuki Swift Hybrid is the company’s first electrified passenger vehicle sold in Australia, and coincides with the sixth-generation of the long-lived supermini series since 1983.

The Suzuki Swift is, by far, Australia's longest-serving supermini nameplate, and widely regarded as amongst the best. For its sixth generation, a complete redesign inside and out brings a mild-hybrid powertrain, matched to the carryover architecture. The result is exceptional fuel economy and better safety, without compromising traditional virtues like great packaging and sporty performance.

As the Fiat 500e falls into our daily routine, some pros and cons have made themselves apparent.I'd love to tell you that a tiny electric car like this is all you really need in life. Our roads, lungs, and the planet would be much better off if we all drove smaller and more efficient vehicles, but one of the things that has become evident in our time with the 500e so far is that a model this small in a city like Sydney does come with some compromises.

Once Australia's cheapest new car, the MG3 is now decidedly more expensive but that's for good reason. With a new platform, upgraded cabin, the latest safety technology and an all-new hybrid powertrain MG's new city car isn't just a replacement for your clapped out Hyundai Getz, this promises to be a true rival fro the Toyota Yaris and Volkswagen Polo.